Hypothalamus manufactures and secretes hypothalamic regulatory hormones which control the secretion of adenohypophysial hormones. It also is the site for the synthesis of the two neurohypophysial hormones. Several of these hypothalamic hormones possess unique structural features - carboxamide groups at the COOH-terminal and 5-oxoprolyl residues at the NH2-terminal. The proposed research is aimed at characterizing the enzymatic processes which are responsible for the synthesis of these terminal groups. It is proposed that the enzymes be purified and their properties such as specificities, reaction intermediates, and regulations be studied. Eventually these enzymes will be localized to the various cell-types in the hypothalamus thus providing knowledge as to the precise sites of synthesis of these hormones. BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES: Affinity Labeling of the gamma-Glutamyl Binding Site of gamma-Glutamyl Transpeptidase. Suresh S. Tate (1977) Fed. Proc., in press. Presented in a Minisymposium: Multi-subunit Enzymes, 61st FASEB Meeting, Chicago, 1977. Affinity Labeling of gamma-Glutamyl Transpeptidase and Location of the gamma-Glutamyl Binding Site on the Light Subunit. Suresh S. Tate and Alton Meister (1977) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 74 (#3), in press.